


All Hands on Deck

by TheTailor12



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Baby Fic, Kid Fic, Multi, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Parent Steve Rogers, Pining, Steve is Just Tired, The Avengers Are Good Bros, The Avengers are Really Trying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-07-24 07:26:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7499361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTailor12/pseuds/TheTailor12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Guys, Cap needs a break.”<br/>“Yes I agree, I saw him go into the ladies’ room yesterday, but I didn’t see him go out.” Wanda added as she doodled on a mission brief.<br/>Steve unexpectedly becomes a parent and has had one too many sleepless nights, so the team decides to help him out…<br/>In their own special ways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How it All Started

Steve loved many of the advancements the super soldier serum had given him. But honestly, he especially loved not being tired all the time. 

Before the serum, just working as a sign painter had tired him out by the end of each day, whilst Bucky could still return from the docks with a wide grin on his face, trying to persuade Steve to go on a double date. With the serum, he could infiltrate enemy camps, fight off countless troops and march back to base and still have residual energy from the adrenaline rush. He loved feeling so awake and alive. 

So it was understandable that Steve was feeling less than his wholesome self as he stumbled out of bed for the umpteenth time and headed over to old his art room which had gradually been converted into a nursery. 

Steve looked down at the little wiggling being before him and despite his seriously intense fatigue, he couldn’t help but smile as he picked the baby up and held her close to his chest. 

It had been three weeks since the team had infiltrated a Hydra layer hidden deep within the Amazonian rainforest. Steve had used his powers of persuasion with a touch of what Clint had referred to as ‘the ultimate puppy-dog eyes’ to convince Natasha and Clint to help follow a weak lead. The mission had not been a complete bust. They may not have returned with the Winter Soldier, but this had been one of the few Hydra layers that had not been completely burned to the ground. They had managed to get several paper files and digital documents before the security system had been reactivated. 

It was also revealed that Hydra had kept several hostages in the layer. There had been twenty-two female cadavers in glass chambers within an underground scientific lab, all of which had crude stitches across neat scars on their abdomens; evidence of C-sections. The blood in Steve’s veins had run cold and his stomach had churned at the sight, but he’d had little time to dwell on it before he’d heard soft high-pitched cries coming from another room connected to the lab. That was where he’d found the infant lying on her back in a hospital cot, flailing her arms and legs as her little cries grew louder. Without much thought into his actions, Steve had picked up the infant and after scanning the room for other hostages, ran out of the compound which had been rigged to explode.

Four days later and Steve had been in the medical wing of the new Avengers facility, staring at the baby that he had saved. Helen Cho had been notified of the infant’s presence and had arrived with advanced equipment which could perform detailed blood-work on the infant. Steve had just been praying that the baby was healthy. The image of the dead women in the Hydra lab was imprinted in his brain. It made him sick and angry. He could only hope that he had saved the baby from such an ugly fate. 

The baby had been healthy. A healthy baby girl who Dr Cho approximated was around 3 months and showed no signs of any scarring or wounding, something which made Steve’s tense shoulders relax minutely. 

But then things became a bit more complicated. 

Dr Cho found evidence of the super soldier serum in the baby’s DNA. And at first she’d assumed that the serum was entirely new, one Hydra had been able to create and inject into the child. The theory had been that they had wanted to raise a child soldier who would follow their every command without the need for constantly wiping away their memories as they did with the Winter Soldier. That idea had made Steve even angrier. 

Except, the theory had been wrong. Further blood tests alongside decrypted files revealed that actually, Hydra had used his DNA and some reverse engineering to inject the serum into the female hostages in the hopes of breeding an army of child super soldiers. The lab had gone eerily silent and Steve had stared in shock at the DNA test which revealed that the baby he’d saved was actually, biologically his daughter. 

“We can take the appropriate measures to ensure the subject is kept in a safe environment.” Maria had stated. And that had been exactly the wrong thing to say. At that moment Steve’s posture had straightened into his ‘Captain America’ stance, a sign that he was preparing for a fight. 

“She’s not a subject, she’s a baby.” 

Maria tore her eyes away from the screen at the tone of Steve’s voice. She raised an eyebrow. 

“She’s not just a baby Steve, she’s a weapon. She has the serum in her DNA from both you and the…mother. From the looks of these files, it seems Hydra succeeded in creating a more potent serum. She could grow up to be more dangerous than the Winter Soldier if they get a hold of her again.” 

Steve’s gaze travelled towards the little cot in the lab where the baby lay asleep. She looked completely angelic, her tiny fingers twitching occasionally as she dreamt innocent dreams. 

“She’s not a weapon and Hydra is never going to get anywhere near her again. I won’t let that happen.” It was only until the word left his lips that Steve had realised just how strongly he’d meant them. It had shocked him to his very core, but he couldn’t afford to freak out in front of Maria who had been watching his every move with her sharp gaze. 

“It’s in everyone’s best interest to ensure that the baby does not get taken back by Hydra.” Natasha piped in, attempting to diffuse the tension. 

“We’ve seen what can happen when we’re wrong about people’s interests. Shield can’t be trusted with her.” 

Maria crossed her arms, already knowing the answer to the question she was about to ask.

“And who do you think can be trusted with a weaponised new-born baby?”

“I’m her father.” The super soldier responded, as though realising it for the first time. And he was. In the sense that Steve realised that being the baby’s father meant he technically had the most authority in deciding what would happen to her. 

With more confidence he said “I’m going to take care of her.”

And that had been the end of that. 

Well, not really. Pepper had ironed out the technicalities of the adoption process, because according to the public record, the baby was not biologically Captain America’s. Pepper had advised Steve to go public with his adoption, but he’d refused, not wanting to put a target on his daughter, even if his many enemies didn’t know she had the serum running through her veins. 

The adoption process had not yet been officially finalised, but it was all for show anyways. And so three weeks later Sarah Luiza Rogers, who was named after his mother and her Brazilian ‘carrier’, was residing in Captain America’s New York apartment, filling it with the sounds of her gurgles, laughter and crying.

So much crying. 

Clint had warned him about the crying, but Steve had shrugged it off. It wasn’t as though he needed much sleep; the serum meant that he didn’t tire very easily. 

Except, Sarah also had the serum, and she didn’t tire very easily either. That, combined with the fact that she wasn’t fully adjusted to the dramatic change in environment and time zone, meant that Steve had finally met his match. 

...

Clint wasn’t much of a morning person. He needed at least two cups of coffee before he could string together a coherent sentence, unless he was running on pure adrenaline during a mission. But that morning there’d been no time to sneak in his mandatory liquid fix because most of the Avengers had been called in by Maria Hill for an urgent meeting in the wake of yet another baddie of the week. 

So he felt pretty crap. But nowhere near as crap as their valiant captain looked.

Steve’s eyes were wonderfully adorned with grey bags underneath and he looked like he could barely stay awake as Maria droned on about protocol and strategy and ‘no Tony you cannot play truth or dare over the comms as a team-building exercise.’ 

Soon after Steve had adopted the super-soldier baby, he had decided to withdraw himself from active duties. He would only be called upon in the field in cases of code red danger, but otherwise he would play a more ‘behind-the-scenes’ role in the Avengers. At least, that had been the plan. But anyone could see that Steve was exhausted. He could barely tell left from right, let alone plan battle strategies for the team. Clint knew better than anyone what the captain was going through, which is why after the meeting, which Steve eagerly slipped out of, he gathered the troops. 

“Guys, Cap needs a break.” 

“Yes I agree, I saw him go into the ladies’ room yesterday, but I didn’t see him go out.” Wanda added as she doodled on a mission brief. 

“Yeah, I remember when Cassie was that small, she would keep us up all night! God knows how the guy even made it here so early.” Scott said, rocking back on a swivel chair. Clint sighed just seconds before- yep- he almost toppled over and fell flat on his ass. Clint found it hard to believe that this guy had a daughter. And everyone said HE was the immature one. Well. 

“He wouldn’t have this problem if he’d given her up to SHIELD.” Natasha added with no real conviction. The team had silently unanimously agreed that Steve taking care of Sarah would be best for her and everyone. 

“Well he’s made his bed, now he has to lay in it. Figuratively speaking of course, since he can’t really lay in the bed that he made because the baby’s keeping him up.” Tony rambled unhelpfully. 

“We gotta help him out and I think I know how. But be warned, Scott you may have to stay up passed your bedtime.” Clint smirked at the scowling man-child until he yelped suddenly when he felt an ant bite on his ankle. 

“I don’t think Steve will want you five-year olds anywhere near his baby.” Natasha said dryly. 

Clint rubbed his ankle and glared at Scott, “Well, we’re the best he’s got.”


	2. Uncle Clint and Uncle Scott

“…Oh and I have extra diapers and pacifiers in the bag too, just in case I get held up in traffic or- “

“Steve, dude seriously; we’ve got this.” Clint rolled his eyes, having resorted to literally pushing Steve out of the door while Scott looked on amused, holding the precious bundle in his arms. Sarah had just unexpectedly woken from her nap, making her father even more nervous and unwilling to leave her under the care of his teammates. 

“Yeah Cap don’t worry, we’ve both been here before. You can trust us.” Scott added, using a fake smile to hide his wince when Sarah grabbed at his nose.  
Steve sighed and took a final glance at his daughter. In his mind he knew he could trust his teammates, that they would take care of Sarah and protect her if anything- 

Nope. 

Steve couldn’t even entertain those thoughts if he was ever going to leave the facility. The problem was that he couldn’t separate his mind from his heart when it came to Sarah, and leaving her even for an afternoon was chipping away at his soul.  
That and the fact that whilst Clint and Scott may have been the most qualified baby-sitters out of all the Avengers, they were also, somehow, the most immature. 

“Alright… ok I’ll go. But if there’s anything at all-“ 

“We’ll call you and you’ll be here faster than Sarah can say apple pie.” Clint interjected.

“Sarah can’t talk…” Steve said with a slight frown at Clint’s interruption.

The archer rolled his eyes, “Well then you’d better get here faster.” 

...

“Waaaaaaah!” 

Scott walked in circles around the room, patting Sarah’s bottom as she soaked his shoulder with her tears. “Shhhh it’s ok Sarah you don’t have to cry; Uncle Clint is gonna change your diaper.” 

“What?!” Clint popped his head out of the communal kitchen doorway where he had, literally, been making apple pie because mentioning it earlier to Steve had given him a ‘craving’. 

“I’m not on diaper duty, I’m making pie! You change her diaper.” 

Scott huffed as he switched shoulders and stopped walking in circles, in favour of bouncing on the spot. “The pie’s out of the oven, you’re done now, so you can change her diaper. I was on bottle and nap duty.” 

“B-but you insisted!”

“Yeah… so I wouldn’t have to be on diaper duty.” 

Clint gawped at him, his face showing a hint of betrayal. “I see how it is Ant-Man, well played. I’ll go get Steve’s Mary Poppins bag.”

Scott had already laid Sarah on the sofa which was covered by a cloth by the time Clint had returned with the bag. Scott stepped back, taking a seat on a chair close-by while Clint paid his dues. 

“Oh jeeeze” Clint gagged as he handled the messy diaper. Sarah was fussing, but had stopped crying in order to observe the weird contortions Clint’s face was making as he attempted to make the tabs on the diaper stick on a karate-kicking baby.

“What’s taking so long?” 

Clint looked up, ready to give Scott a look that would definitely kill. Except, he almost choked on his spit when he saw that the ex-convict was stuffing his face with freshly-baked apple pie. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?! You don’t deserve my pie!” 

...

Steve returned to the facility to find his giggling daughter sitting on the sofa watching two (sometimes) grown men wrestling over what appeared to be half of an apple pie. 

The captain sighed and picked up his daughter, content at least that she had clearly been changed and fed and not a hair on her head had been harmed during this whole mess. Steve felt the tenseness in his shoulders that had been present all afternoon relax. Although they were clearly children stuck in the bodies of men, Steve couldn’t deny that Clint and Scott had taken good care of his baby girl.  
Sarah gurgled and buried her face in her father’s neck, gripping tightly onto his shirt. 

“What’s that Sarah? You think we should take the pie?” Steve dodged his fighting teammates, ignoring their protests as he took the pie and his Mary Poppins bag and walked out of the room. 

“Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help! And the pie!” 

Clint and Scott just gaped as their team leader left. 

“I didn’t even get to taste it!” Clint whined. 

“I did. It was good! I would have killed for some vanilla ice-cream though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the name of the fic, sorry for any confusion caused. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it was a little short. Next one will be longer and it'll be Tony and Bruce's turn.  
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Uncle Bruce and Uncle Tony

“Tony…”

“Uh huh?”

“Why is the baby playing with a laser?” 

The genius immediately stopped tinkering with his Iron Man suit and whipped his head around so fast, Bruce was convinced he’d given himself whiplash.  
Tony’s eyes landed on the baby in question who was happily gurgling as his robot handed her various, potentially dangerous tools to play with and put in her mouth. 

Tony almost had a seizure. 

“No! Dum-E, you stupid robot! I told you not to give the baby stuff! Babies can’t play with robot toys, that’s what baby toys are for.” 

The berated robot chirped sadly, taking the dangerous tools from Sarah’s strong grabby hold. The baby cried when her new toys were taken away from her and Tony and Bruce froze and stared for a moment. 

“Err… someone should take care of that right?” 

Bruce rolled his eyes and walked up to the baby. “We are supposed to be taking of her Tony.” He responded as he picked the baby up. Sarah’s cries only grew louder and nothing Bruce would do could settle her. 

“Hey could you keep it down over there, I’m trying to adjust these flight propellers. One wrong move and Iron Man becomes the Iron Pancake.” 

Bruce paused from bouncing Sarah on his lap and raised his eyebrows at Tony’s audacity. “You know you could help me out here, like you told Steve you would.” 

“Honey, I’m working.”  
Bruce rolled his eyes, “You’re always working.” 

“Yeah because I’m always trying to improve the team and how we function.”

“Well I have important work to do too, I can’t just spend the whole day looking after the baby. We agreed we would do this together Tony, it’s time for you to step up.” 

Tony blinked and turned towards his fellow scientist. “Is it just me, or did we just get real domestic?”

Bruce removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to wake up from what was clearly a nightmare. Just the thought of having to raise a child with Tony made him cringe. It’s not that Tony wasn’t a good man. He was. He proved that, every day he got up, put on the suit and fought for what was right.  
It’s just that Tony wasn’t father material… 

“Just having a baby in the room has turned us into an old married couple. Cap probably has a serious case of blue balls, which sucks ‘cause he didn’t even get down and dirty and he still ended up with a kid! Poor Cap missed out on the fun part.” 

…Like at all.

During their little squabble Sarah had quietened down and was now snuggled on Bruce’s arm. The mild-mannered scientists smiled down at the innocent being, his chest aching a little with desire for what he could never have. He was startled out of his reverie when his phone buzzed in his pocket and a text revealed that his help was needed at the children’s’ ward of a hospital that he often volunteered at in the city. 

“Something’s come up, they need me at St John’s.”

“What?! But if you’re there then you’re not here…” Tony replied, staring dumbly as Bruce lay Sarah into her car seat and put on his jacket. Sarah started fussing, kicking her little legs and waving her arms at the change of position. 

“Looks like you’re going to need to hold her.” Bruce said, quickly sending a text back to the hospital. 

“What?! No! I’m allergic!” 

“You’re allergic to a baby.” The scientist deadpanned

Tony shrugged. “It’s not entirely impossible.”

“Tony, just take care of her or Steve will kill you” 

“Well shit, you’d better get me a gravestone on your way back ‘cause I know I’m gonna fuck this up.” 

“Language. And no you won’t.” Bruce steered his friend towards the car seat where Sarah was starting to cry in earnest. 

“Just pick her up and tell her a story. You like talking about yourself right? Now you can talk about yourself with someone who won’t beg you to shut up.” 

Tony gulped and picked up the baby. She was squidgy and soft and loud. He held her at arms’ length for a moment and she finally stopped crying in favour of staring at him through her watery eyes, which were a kaleidoscope of colours, but predominantly green. Tony held her to his chest and started mumbling to himself. 

“Ok, I can do this. I can take care of Captain America’s baby. No problem! I’m Tony Stark, I can do anything! How hard could this be?”  
Sarah gurgled in agreement.

...

Steve was perhaps a bit apprehensive when he got out of the elevator and made his way to the lab. He hadn’t really wanted to leave Sarah in such a dangerous environment, but Bruce had reassured him that it had been baby-proofed and that he would keep an eye on things. So one could imagine the state the captain was in when he received a text from Bruce saying that he’d had to leave Tony alone with Sarah. 

Steve’s mind kept running though different scenarios where his baby girl would end up flying away in an Iron Man suit, or left under one of Tony’s cars.  
Steve nearly had a coronary when he walked into the lab and saw an empty seat at Tony’s workstation. 

“Tony?” 

“Sshhh. Over here cap.” 

Steve followed the direction which the quiet whisper had come from, only to find his sweet baby girl asleep on the floor in a toolbox that had been lined with her blankets. The billionaire was sitting next to her cross-legged as he worked on a tablet and beside them was Tony’s child-like robot who was whirring and spinning as he (he?) attempted to get spare diapers off his ‘head’. 

“Hey, looks like you two had fun.” Steve said, glancing at several of Sarah’s toys which were strewn across the floor. 

“Yup, we sure did. Turns out the little squirt gets a kick out of making Dum-E play fetch, she must have gotten her sense of humour from her momma.” 

Steve rolled his eyes, clutching the genius’ outstretched hand and hauling him up. “Thanks for taking care of her Tony. You guys didn’t have any issues did you?” 

“Nope, everything was fine and dandy Cap.” 

The valiant super-soldier nodded his head in approval. “Good to hear.” 

Tony tapped his chin, seemingly trying to think hard about the words that were about to leave his mouth. Steve recognised that look, despite it appearing very rarely.

“Well everything was dandy… after we err… took care of a hiccup.”

Steve took a deep breath and closed his eyes, but still couldn’t manage to unclench his jaw. 

“What hiccup Tony?” 

Tony scratched his head and avoided the captain’s steely blue gaze. 

“The little squirt may have found herself locked into the Mark XII suit at one point…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little snap-shot of Bruce and Tony's co-parenting :D Next up will be Natasha's turn, a little bit more story and depth from now on. Leave kudos and comments if you like! Thanks for reading!


	4. Uncle Thor and Uncle Vision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor and Vision share an insightful moment with Sarah as they babysit. We finally get to see what Steve gets up to in his free time and he's pretty much busy pining and being a lovable, blundering mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I've written any fics, but I feel like here is where things get interesting and a little deeper. I've made a few changes to the tags and will continue to do so as the story unravels.  
> Please leave me some kudos and comments if you like this chapter, they really encourage me to keep updating!  
> Thanks for reading!

“It is an honour to have been trusted with the supervision of Steven’s babe, yes?”

“Indeed, he is very protective of her. Granting permission for us to take care of her must have been challenging for him. After having analysed large amount of data on this matter, I have found that the bond between a parent and child is quite... unique and powerful and… well…”

The blond god of thunder tore his gaze away from the dancing shapes on the television screen in favour of facing Vision who seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

Vision’s brows furrowed as he tried to decipher the many fleeting sensations he was experiencing. It was not uncommon for the android to experience such sensations as his mental processes flitted between human and cybernetic. He looked down at the infant seated between them on the couch, avidly watching an absurd programme with dancing actors dressed as exaggeratedly sized shapes. Vision reasoned that the actors were probably hot and sweaty, not to mention humiliated and under-paid. But to the little infant seated beside him, they were special and magical; her eyes never left the screen and they were filled with curiosity and wonder.

He tried to imagine what it would be like to have a child who was genetically his. Would it look like him? Would he feel any real, human emotions towards it? Would he put its happiness and well-being above all else as other human parents seem to do?

Vision found it difficult to immerse himself in this scenario. Perhaps because he had never been a child. He would not know how to fulfil his offspring’s ideal upbringing because he had never experienced such a thing for himself. In a way, Vision could be considered an infant because he was so new to the world. However, JARVIS’ programming, his advanced artificial cognitive abilities and his experiences fighting as an Avenger, made Vision the most world-weary newborn to have ever lived.

“What ails you my friend? Your mood has fallen.”

“My mood has not altered, but rather my train of thought has. I was merely wondering what it would be like, to be in Captain Roger’s position.” Vision answered.

“Aye” Thor nodded, “I have thought about this also. Steven has both humbled and impressed me with his devotion to his babe; particularly as he must take on the role of both mother and father. Lady Sarah and I have both known the tragedy of losing a mother. But I have centuries of fond memories of mine, whereas she will never know who her mother was. This saddens me.”

Sarah seemed to sense the solemnity in the room as she began to fuss and wriggle between them. Thor gave her a small smile before picking her up and giving her a golden teddy bear which seemed to- _yes_ , to his delight, the god realised the golden bear was modelled after him. Sarah, who was clutching the bear in her chubby hands, went back to staring at the television, in awe of the vibrant characters.

“Fortunately she is surrounded by many people who care for her.”

“Aye,” Thor responded with a wider smile. “We shall protect and care for Lady Sarah with all our might! And we are very mighty!”

 

* * *

“I still don’t know how you do that.”

“Do what?”

Sam gestured towards the super-soldier’s stuffed face with a raised eyebrow. “Eat like it’s the last meal you’re ever gonna see. Every time!”

Steve could feel his cheeks warm up, though he hoped Sam would think it was from the effort of stuffing a burger down his throat.

“I can’t help it.” The captain replied after he’d managed to swallow his mouthful. “It’s the serum. My metabolism is through the roof so I’m always hungry.”

“Well I guess you deserve it after your big ol’ shopping trip.”

Steve nodded and glanced next to him at the spoils of his battle. He had spent the entire day at the mall getting some new clothes for his baby girl, who seemed to grow a couple of inches every time Steve took his eyes off her.

To say it had been overwhelming would be an understatement.

All day women had surrounded him, seeing a man shopping for his baby daughter; they sniffed him out like blood in a shark tank. Some of them had been lovely and helpful, it was his first time physically shopping for Sarah’s baby stuff, as FRIDAY had previously handled all purchases online. He had appreciated the words of wisdom some of the ladies had to offer. But then there were others who bombarded him with questions and cooing and gushing. That had been exhausting. Steve had been out-right delighted when Sam had sent him a text saying he was in the area and wanted to know if Steve was free for an early dinner.

 

“Uh huh. Hey, are you done with those fries?” Sam chuckled and pushed his plate over to his Dyson-powered friend.

“Thanks.” Steve mumbled, fervently trying to ignore the weird fluttering in his stomach he always got when Sam smiled.

“So I’ve officially been taken on as a councillor at the VA here in New York.”

“Oh wow! That’s great news Sam. Are you gonna be moving into the facility or getting a place in the city?”

“I think I’ll head on straight to the facility. Now that I’ll be a full-time Avenger, it would be easier and quicker for me to get where I need to be. Plus, I could train more there.” Sam considered, sipping the last of his drink through the straw.

Steve’s eyes travelled to the straw against his will; he’d never been more envious of an inanimate object. He tore his eyes away and forced a fry into his mouth before he said something stupid.

“You’re more than welcome to come stay with me and Sarah in the city… that is, if you _want_ to.”

Well that hadn’t worked.

Steve stuck two more fries in his mouth and tried to gulp them down passed the lump in his throat.

But Sam didn’t seem freaked out by the offer, he merely smiled. “Thanks, I might take you up on that if the sexual tension between Clint and Scott gets unbearable. How is Sarah by the way?”

“She’s great! She’s growing up so fast. And she loves the teddy you gave her.”

Steve grinned widely as he showed Sam the picture on his phone of Sarah happily clutching her brown Falcon teddy. She also had a ginger Black Widow teddy and a golden Thor teddy. But, through no encouragement on her father’s behalf _at all_ , Sarah had chosen the Falcon as her favourite.

“Awww, now that’s a smart baby.” Sam said with a smirk. And honestly, Steve couldn’t be more proud of his daughter so he didn’t bother pointing out Sam’s bias.

“She’s with Thor and Vision right now. Most of the others are on a stealth mission.”

“Looking for your boyfriend?”

Steve almost choked on his drink at that. “He’s not my- Bucky’s like a brother to me, we’ve never been…”  The blond shook his dead, totally flustered by Sam’s insinuation.

Especially considering-

Nope. This was neither the time nor place to be dealing with _that_.

“Anyway, yeah Natasha, Clint and Scott are chasing up a lead.”

Sam looked thoughtful, but knew better than to press the subject.

“We should get to the facility, who knows what kinda crazy stuff Thor’s getting up to with your kid.”

 

* * *

“Steven, I have had a tremendous time with your wonderful babe! We watched the dancing shapes, played with the stuffed animal that has my likeness and we had a great feast; though our good friend Vision advised against giving Lady Sarah a sip of mead.”

Thor’s grin stretched from ear to ear and almost made Steve disregard the fact that he’d almost given his five-month-old daughter strong Asgardian alcohol.  

“Wait, Vision advised against what?! Thor you can’t give babies mead!”

The thunder god’s brow furrowed which looked comical considering he had a happy baby flailing in his arms.

“But on Asgard, babies are given small amounts of mead to strengthen their character and their stomachs.”

“Well Sarah’s not Asgardian so please don’t give her alcohol.”

Thor nodded in agreement, then lifted Sarah up and threw her in the air before catching her in his strong arms.

Sarah giggled, absolutely delighted with her Uncle Thor.

Steve almost had a heart attack.

“Lady Sarah may not be of Asgardian blood…” Another throw and another giggle. And another heart attack.

“…but she has an Asgardian spirit!” Another throw. Steve was pretty sure he was going to pass out.

“Thor, please don’t- you could drop her.”

The god laughed but it was Vision who answered. “Do not worry Captain Rogers, Thor has a very good track record. Statistically speaking there is less than a 4.38% chance that he will drop the infant.”

Steve blanched. Track record?! How many times had Thor done this?!

Before he could voice his concern, Vision turned to Sam, who had been taking in the madness from the side lines.

“Welcome Mr Wilson, I presume you were able to secure employment at the New York Veteran Affairs Centre.”

“Err yeah, I’ll be moving up here at the end of the month. Though honestly, after seeing all this, I’m starting to realise exactly the kinda deal I signed up for. Y’all are crazy.”


	5. Aunty Natasha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah gets some bonding time with the fierce Black Widow and Steve gets an unexpected guest on his day off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks for the comments and kudos! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. This is one of my favourite chapters so far so I hope you enjoy this one. Please be sure to leave a comment or kudos if you do!   
> Thanks for reading!

Despite what most people assumed, the Black Widow did not hate children. Her tortured past meant that she had had to come to terms with a childless future, however this did not mean she despised all infants out of pure resentment. It also did not mean she was obsessed with children and had a board on Pinterest dedicated to cute baby-sized clothing. Usually she was pretty indifferent. But this child was far from usual. She was a super-baby who had been enhanced to be stronger, faster and have higher cognitive abilities than other babies.

She was possibly the world’s most dangerous baby. A fact which didn’t seem to coincide with the image of Sarah flailing in her cot with only a diaper on, her hair still damp from her splash-time in her baby bathtub.

“I thought I told you to take it easy on the splash _malyshka._ ” Natasha murmured mostly to herself as she picked up a towel and tried to salvage her soaked t-shirt. At least she’d be changing soon for training.

Sarah gurgled on the bed, completely content with conversing with herself and grabbing at thin air with her strong chubby little fists.

“Alright, let’s get you dressed and ready for battle.”

 

* * *

 

“So you’re on baby duty huh? Duty being the operative word here.” Tony greeted with a smirk. Natasha sighed. She had already begun to mentally prepare herself for the upcoming sparring session with Clint; now she had to deal with sassing Tony Stark straight back to whatever hole he’d come out of.

“Tony, Sarah is having a really good day. Please don’t ruin it with your presence.”

“Hey! Sarah loves me, I’m her favourite uncle. She can even say my name. Sarah, say Tony.”

The baby looked up at the billionaire from where she was being carried in her car seat.

“Ooii!” She exclaimed joyfully.

“Good job kid, maybe work a little harder on those consonants, yeah? Don’t worry, we’ll work on it next time.”

“Gooo!”

“Cool. We can work out some dates, I’ll have my people call your people.”

Natasha shook her head at the genius’ antics, but her attention was steered towards the device in Tony’s hands that appeared to be a… cot mobile?

“Do I even want to know what you’re doing with that?”

Tony looked down at his hands as though he’d forgotten he’d been holding something.

“Oh, this? This is for the kid. I’m the cool billionaire uncle who’ll spoil her rotten and won’t be there to deal with the consequences. _That’s_ what makes _me_ the favourite.”

Natasha snorted, “You’re not her favourite ‘uncle’, Sam is.”

Tony rolled his eyes and waved a hand in dismissal. “That’s only ‘cause Cap wants to bone him. I still win; she can say my name-“

“No she really can’t-“

“ _And_ ,” Tony continued, ignoring Natasha’s interruption. “ _my_ presents could actually save her life. Check it out, this works as an electromagnetic shield which is virtually impenetrable. FRIDAY will be able to activate it when there’s a threat, even from Steve’s phone if they’re in his apartment.”

Natasha tilted her head to the side, a small smile forming on her lips. “Aww, you _do_ care.”

“All I care about is beating Wilson.”

“Sure. Well we’re gonna go hand Clint his ass on a silver platter.”

“Great, less competition for me. He and the kid seem to have this weird purple appreciation thing going on; that’s just got to stop. 

Natasha just raised an eyebrow. “Sarah say bye to Tony.”

“Ooii!”

Both Avengers froze, startled by the baby’s happy reply.

“What the-“

“I told you she can say my name! I am soo the favourite!”

 

* * *

 

Steve gaped at the sight before him. After countless missions, one of which had gotten him his daughter, all it had taken to get his best friend back was opening his door on a Friday afternoon. Steve had been on his way out to go for a walk in the park, to do some sketching and then pick up some groceries since Sarah was with Natasha. But then as soon as he’d opened his door to leave…

“Bucky?” Steve whispered his best friend’s name, as though saying it too loudly would awaken him from a lucid dream.

“Steve.”

The blond rushed out of the door and hugged Bucky tightly. He clung onto his best friend, taking in the scent of metal, sweat and blood. Bucky was shivering in his embrace and Steve couldn’t tell if it was from a chill or because he was skittish.

Steve pulled away and held his friend at arms’ length, taking in the tortured look in his steel grey eyes.

“Buck, how are you- why did you-“

“I remembered who you are… were. In Washington. But then they took me again and fucked up my head and I couldn’t…” Bucky’s voice sounded course from disuse, he could barely recognise his own accent. The last time he’d spoken he’d been speaking Romanian. Now his voice had an old Brooklyn accent which was both foreign and familiar to him.

“It’s ok Buck, come in, we can talk when you’re ready.”

 

* * *

 

They put off talking for a while. Steve instead figured letting Bucky have a warm shower and make himself comfortable was the priority. After fifteen minutes Bucky came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and a newly shaved face. He was flushed from the warmth of the shower which made him look healthier than the ashen, ghost of a man that had been at his doorway. But without many clothes on Steve could see the scars all over Bucky’s torso. Some were old and barely visible, and some were new fresh wounds. Steve could also see the mangled, scarred skin that acted as a seam between Bucky’s body and the metal arm. The weapon that Hydra had imposed upon him.

“Take a picture why don’tcha.” Bucky murmured standing awkwardly under Steve’s gaze.

The captain shook his head remorsefully. “I’m so sorry Buck. I just… it makes me so mad. I wanna kill each and every one of them for what they did to you.”

“Well you can’t. Captain America doesn’t go around killing fools in cold blood. That’s the Winter Soldier’s job, and he’s on hiatus.” Bucky said with shrug.

He picked up an apple with his gleaming metal arm, and sunk he teeth into it. The apple disappeared within seconds before Steve’s very eyes, and it was only when another one followed it that Steve realised his best friend probably hadn’t eaten a proper meal in decades. And even then, they’d grown up during the Great Depression.

Steve gave Bucky some clothes to wear and then decided to cook chilli con carne. It wasn’t his best attempt and he wished more than anything that Sam had been there to help out. But in all fairness, he’d been a little distracted, what with his best friend _slash_ _ex-world-renowned-assassin_ appearing on his doorstep.

“Damn Rogers, seventy years and you still can’t cook for shit.” Bucky said as he stuffed his mouth with rice.

“Hey! You’re eating it aren’t you? You’re on your third helping!”

Bucky snorted ungracefully and quickly gulped down a glass of cool water which Steve promptly refilled. “That’s not saying much Stevie, I’m so fucking hungry I could literally eat a horse right now.”

Steve frowned at the thought of his friend suffering from starvation whilst he went about his business, drawing happy people in parks and buying too much food to actually consume.

“Hey, I know that look. Sister Agatha used to say you never grew tall ‘cause you had the guilt of a thousand Catholics weighing you down. Quit it Steve, if you want to repent for your sins, go to Church.”

“Bucky I’m so sorry. I should have looked harder for you. I should have-“

“What?” Bucky questioned with a raised eyebrow. “You should have jumped after me? Steve don’t be stupid; you couldn’t jump after me, so stop blaming yourself for what happened. I don’t blame you.”

“But-“

Bucky shook his head. “No buts. Jesus Steve, you still can’t cook, you still carry the weight of the world on your shoulders and you still can’t buy clothes that are the right size for you. Some things never change huh?”

Steve swatted his oldest and dearest friend with a tea towel, but Bucky barely noticed as his entire frame went rigid and his eyes locked onto a spot on the wall.

Steve tensed and quickly followed his gaze. But all that was there was a frame photo of Steve holding a happy Sarah and smiling down at his daughter like he was the luckiest man on earth.

Oh.

“Well something’s changed…” Bucky murmured. “You have a kid Stevie?”

“Yeah Buck… her name’s Sarah.”

A small absent smile appeared on Bucky’s lips. “Your mum’s name was Sarah.”

“Yeah, I named her after my mum and her mum Luiza.”

Bucky tore his gaze away from the photograph and smirked at the blond. “Oh yeah? You finally got a girl to go dancing with ya?”

Steve sighed at his friends’ antics but couldn’t bring himself to joke about this. Sometimes it was easy to forget just how Sarah had come into his life. But when he remembered it usually hit him like a tonne of bricks and he’d hold his daughter tight in his arms and whisper promises to her that he intended to keep until his dying breath.

“It’s not like that. It’s… complicated.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Steve, I may not remember everything, but I know that that baby did not magically manifest from the kindness in your heart.”

Steve blushed, but stood his ground. “Bucky, you know how crazy my life is. Trust me when I say it’s complicated.”

“Alright fine, but I know she’s yours. She looks just like you. Like a Latina version of you.”

“That makes sense. Her mother was Brazilian so…”

“Was?” Bucky asked, his voice thick with regret.

Steve rubbed his eyes with hurt and frustration. He really hadn’t wanted to go into all of this with Bucky. Not yet, not when he’d just gotten him back. Thankfully Bucky could still read him like a book.

“We don’t have to talk about it until you’re ready.” Bucky stated, echoing Steve’s earlier sentiment.

Steve nodded, but had no time to respond before Bucky’s whole body tensed again, only this time his eyes shot towards the door. Before Steve could even ask, four loud knocks interrupted the silence. He would have been alarmed had it not been for the distinct sounds of giggling that was coming from the doorway.

Bucky raised his eyebrows, evidently having heard the baby noises too. “Unless your life is crazier than I thought it was, I’m guessing it’s not a bad guy behind that door.”

Steve chuckled and headed towards the door, swiftly opening it to reveal the second assassin to stand at his doorstep that afternoon.

Wow, his life really was crazy.

Natasha looked straight passed him and by the time Steve had turned to see that she’d been staring at Bucky, he heard the click of a gun and turned back to see Natasha pointing it at Bucky’s head.

“Take the baby and run. I’ll give you a head start.”

“Natasha no! Bucky’s not a threat, he’s better now. He’s not trying to kill me.”

Natasha didn’t flinch, didn’t take her eyes off the target. She spoke monotonously. “Steve, I get that you’re willing to risk your life for the man you once knew. But are you really willing to risk your daughter’s?”

Steve flinched as though she’d shot _him_ in the head.

“She’s right Stevie. I can’t stay here, not with your daughter in the same building.”

Steve turned to face his friend, “Bucky you can’t leave, I just got you back. I can’t lose you again, you’re my family Buck.”

Bucky smiled sadly, glancing down at the baby who was sitting in her car seat, obliviously blowing spit bubbles. “She’s your family too. She needs you, you’re all she’s got. I can protect myself, I don’t wanna draw my enemies towards her and put her in danger. Besides, I’ve gotten better, but my head’s still fucked up. I can barely sleep and sometimes I forget where I am… She can’t have shit like that around her. It’s not good for her Stevie.”

Steve sighed, it was easily the most difficult thing he’d ever had to do and it was tearing him apart. But Bucky was right. He had to put his baby girl first. Even if it meant he couldn’t be at his friends’ side as he healed.

“Ok... But you can’t disappear on me again. Please Bucky. Sarah, she needs you too, she needs her Uncle Bucky.”

There was a moment of silence, and just as Steve thought he’d pushed too far and Bucky had shut down on him, his friend cracked a grin. “Well, she _is_ one hella cute kid... Alright… _sure_ I’ll stick around. If I sign myself up to a mental hospital will you come visit?” Bucky joked.

Steve narrowed his eyes at him. “Bucky don’t say that!” The brunette simply rolled his eyes at the captain for the umpteenth time.

“You know... you could stay at the Avengers facility.” The Black Widow had lowered her gun but still hadn’t clicked the safety back on.

“It’s kind of like a mental hospital, but with superheroes.”

Bucky raised his eyebrows. “Wasn’t the Avengers Initiative run by SHIELD? Wasn’t SHIELD Hydra? I wouldn’t wanna get back into the wrong hands.”

Natasha remained stoic, except a slight glint in her eye that Steve guessed meant she didn’t _hate_ Bucky.

“The Avengers don’t answer to SHIELD. If anything, we’re on Stark’s payroll.”

“Tony Stark? The man whose parents I murdered?”

“Bucky, Tony understands that it wasn’t your fault. He was mad at first but, after analysing Hydra’s files himself and seeing what they were willing to do to Sarah, he gets tha-“

“What were they willing to do to Sarah?!” Bucky’s eyes glaze over and Steve was reminded of his old Bucky, who was usually a cool guy, until something really riled him up. Steve could also see traces of The Soldier and honestly the combination terrified him.

“Sarah was a- a product of Hydra experimenting with my genes. I found her on a mission, when I was looking for you.”

“They made her?”

Steve nodded, his eyes locked on his daughter who was clutching her bare foot. “They’d kidnapped a woman called Luiza and injected her with the serum. They’d used her as a-a carrier.”

The brunette flinched. “Steve…”

“I know Buck.”

“They’ll be coming for her, whoever’s left that is.”

“Well thanks to your one-man crusade, there aren’t many left at all.” Natasha chipped in, crossing her arms. “You could join us. Help us wipe Hydra from the face of the earth for good. Then if you can handle it, if you’re a good team player, then maybe you could become an Avenger. Take Steve’s place since he’s all domestic now.”

Bucky’s eyes wandered over to Steve who, Bucky was surprised to see, looked pretty neutral. He’d figured the team leader would either vehemently protest against the offer, or eagerly shove Bucky towards Natasha.

“Alright, if it means I get to protect my niece and make sure this punk stays out of trouble, I’ll join your little boyband.”

“Really? That’s great Buck.” Steve smiled and slapped Bucky on the shoulder.

The ex-assassin shrugged. “It’s gotta be better than staying in a psych ward right?”

Natasha tilted her head, as though considering Bucky’s statement.

“Hmm, not by much.”

Sarah gurgled, eager to get some attention back onto her. She was kicking her legs energetically when Bucky crouched down and stroked her soft cheeks with his flesh hand.

“She’s your baby girl all right, Rogers. Already a fighter.” Steve looked on, grinning ear-to-ear at the sight of Sarah squealing with delight as Bucky tickled her stomach.

“That may have something to do with her watching me train with Clint. In fact, I think she’s trying to copy my signature thigh choke hold.” Natasha said nonchalantly

“What?! Natasha she’s too young to be watching you kick people’s butts.”

The female ex-Soviet assassin shrugged. “I think it’s good that she’s starting young.”

At that moment Sarah got a little too over excited and kicked her Uncle Bucky in the face. “Ow!” Bucky proclaimed exaggeratedly.

Natasha simply smirked and raised an eyebrow at Steve.

“You’re welcome.”

 


	6. Uncle Sam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam has his turn babysitting Sarah, whilst Bucky gets to the bottom of Steve's infatuation. A portion of pining, a dash of cuteness and a sprinkling of cursing. Yum.

“Thank you so much for this Sam, I owe you one.”

Sam looked up at the blond captain who kissed his daughter’s dark brown tufts of hair before handing her down to him. He was sitting on the floor ready to watch Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, a favourite among his nieces.

“Actually I’m pretty sure you owe me more than one.” Sam remarked jokingly.

Steve ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, you're right. I should write a list of things I owe you for.”

“Normally I’d say don’t mention it. But you just keep taking, and I'm more of a give and receive kind of guy.”

“I’m pretty sure Steve can give just as good as he takes.” Bucky said with a smirk, his eyes still locked on some game app on his phone that he'd become obsessed with.

Steve blushed but Sam, because he was so cool and perfect, just chuckled at Bucky’s innuendo and completely side-stepped it.

‘I’m not a picky guy, I'll settle for a weekend-long ‘Suits’ marathon.”

“I can agree to that.” Steve said with a smile which he hoped hid the fact that his stomach was doing that fluttering thing again.

“I'm pretty sure you just agreed to ‘Netflix and Chill’. Sam might not be ‘picky’ but Steve, you're downright easy.”

“OK Bucky!” Steve cleared his throat pointedly. “I think it's time for us to go.” Steve pulled Bucky by his metal arm and dragged him towards one of the main entrances. Before they left, Bucky leaned down and kissed Sarah’s cheek. She gurgled happily at all the attention she was getting.

 

* * *

 

 

“So, when are you and Sam gonna fuck?”

Steve almost tripped over thin air.

“Bucky! What are you even saying?” he spluttered, a flush already appearing on his neck. Bucky sighed. He loved Steve like a brother, he really did. But sometimes he could be a little dense; especially when it came to relationships.

“Steve I know you’ve got the hots for Wilson. Hell, _Sarah_ knows you’ve got the hots for him. I’m pretty sure she'll be calling him dad before she calls you that.”

“I don’t have the hots for Sam.” Steve tried to sound convincing but his Irish complexion was failing him once again. Plus, he’d always been a really shitty liar.

It was a cool summer morning and Steve and Bucky were going on their weekly run from the facility, all the way to Central Park and back. Steve liked taking Bucky through new routes so he could become familiarised with the shiny new version of his old home. Bucky liked having some time away from the facility. He liked his new teammates, they were weird and dysfunctional and he could see what had drawn Steve to them. But sometimes being part of such a tight-knit club was a little overwhelming, particularly when he’d been so used to riding solo. Also, the sexual tension between Clint and Scott was a bit much. So, these runs, jogs or sometimes walks were great for both of them. Except when Bucky was trying to pry into Steve’s love life- or lack thereof.

“Steve I know you don’t know how to get clothes that fit right. Before, all your clothes were too big-“

“That wasn't my fault,” Steve interjected grumpily “they didn't have my size in the men's section.”

“… And now that you're this beefcake, you’re wearing clothes two sizes too small.” Bucky continued ignoring Steve’s interruption.

A smirk appeared on the brunette’s face. “Except whenever you come over to visit Sam, your clothes look like you painted them on.”

“That’s not true. And I don't just go to see Sam, I like catching up with everyone.” Steve argued.

“Yeah well we both know Vision ain’t the one you’re having wet dreams over.”

Steve, the stubborn punk that he was, shook his head in denial, despite the fact that he was _literally_ the shade of a tomato.

“Sam’s a good guy. But we’re just friends, and I'm ok with that Bucky.”

Bucky looked at Steve with narrowed eyes in a way that he knew meant that Bucky was reading him, stripping away all the bullshit and looking straight into his soul. There had been times when Steve would miss that, having someone who knew him so well that they could understand him at his very core.

This wasn't one of those times.

“Shit, you really have it bad Rogers.”

“Bucky-“

“You're telling me you can fight a bunch’a Nazis and take down an alien invasion no problem, but you can’t ask the fella you like to step out with you?!”

Their run had slowed to a walk, but now Steve stopped and ran his fingers through his hair with frustration and let his arm fall with a heavy, tired shrug.

“Sam’s a good guy.” He repeated. “He’s my friend and he’s done so much for me. He even said it himself! I know he was kidding but that doesn't make it untrue. After Washington DC happened, Tony had offered him a spot on the team, but he'd turned it down ‘cause he had a life in DC and a job helping vets. It wasn't until I told him I was stepping down ‘cause of Sarah that he considered being a part of the team.”

“I’m still not hearing why you can’t get it together and ask him out.” Bucky said, standing on one leg perfectly balanced as he stretched his quads.

“I don’t think he feels that way about me-“

Bucky straight up rolled his eyes and pointed his finger at his fool of a best friend, “Wrong answer, try again.”

Steve scowled and waved the offending finger away from his face.

“-and even if he did…My life is so complicated. Sam deserves something nice and simple to get back to after all the crazy shit he has to deal with as an Avenger. Like what Clint has with Laura and the kids.”

“Well first off, we all know Clint belongs with Scott. And second, you should let Sam decide for himself if he wants your crazy ass.”

“And if I ask him and he doesn't?”

Bucky patted his shoulder, “I'll wring his throat to death.”

Bucky backtracked and held up his hands in surrender at the look of horror on Steve’s face. “I'm kidding you punk. I like Sam, he’s way too cool for you. But it's fine ‘cause I know he likes you and he adores Sarah.”

Steve smiled reluctantly, “Yeah, he is really good with her isn’t he?”

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure he’s her second favourite, after me of course.”

“How am I not her favourite?!”

“Well you started trying to feed her that God-awful baby food so… she told me she ain’t too thrilled with her Pop.”

“But the internet says I need to start adjusting her towards solid foods.”

“You can keep the mushy pears, we like those. Just get rid of that vegetable crap, throw it down the drain where it belongs.”

Steve chuckled and shook his head at Bucky. “You're speaking on behalf of Sarah now?”

“Yup. Your baby girl also told me to tell you to get your head outta your ass and ask Sam out on a date. I'll even babysit while you’re out.”

Steve raised his eyebrows at Bucky’s words. His friend had yet to trust himself to stay with Sarah alone while Steve was out. The captain knew this was a big deal for him because he wouldn’t have offered if he thought, even for a second, that he wasn't ready.

“Alright fine… I'll ask Sam.” The blond sighed.

“Today, when we get back. Not in twenty years when even your daughter has better game than you.”

Steve spluttered but Bucky was relentless. “Today or no deal.”

Before his dumbfounded friend could respond, Bucky started jogging away, “Get your shit together Rogers!” He called back to his friend who quickly caught up.

“Sam’s a great guy, but he’s still human. And no warm-blooded mammal can look at you in those tight shirts and not wanna climb you like a tree.”

 

* * *

 

 

“All right, here comes the plane! It’s going round and round and… into your belly!”

Sarah giggled and waved her arms joyfully, her mouth full of a baby-friendly gourmet meal prepared from scratch by Sam who had promptly thrown away the nonsense in the jars that he’d found in Steve’s Mary Poppins bag. When Sarah was finished with her mouthful, Sam gently wiped away the mess around her mouth and gave her one last spoonful. Sarah ate it up like a champ and Sam congratulated her on finishing her entire meal. He gave her back her Falcon bear which she waved around excitedly.

Sam smiled and started washing up whilst Sarah was distracted, but it wasn’t long before he heard the footfalls of a super-soldier coming into the kitchen.

“Wilson, I’m back! Did ya miss me?”

Sam chuckled and turned towards the loud brunette who was licking a lollipop, of all things. “Nope, not really. Sarah and I had a great day without your annoying ass.”

“Language! Don’t let Steve hear you saying such filthy words around his princess. He’ll get an aneurism. And don’t lie Sam, you missed the hell outta me.” Bucky stuck the lollipop in his mouth and picked Sarah up; she looked thrilled to see him but was still clutching onto her Falcon bear with her tight little fist. That made Sam feel warm inside.

“I know Sarah missed me, didn’t you doll? You missed your Uncle Bucky.”

“Sarah’s gonna be missing an eye if Uncle Bucky isn’t careful with that candy stick.” Sam said with a raised eyebrow. Bucky rolled his eyes, but quickly bit down on the lollipop like a heathen, and threw the stick towards a faraway trash can. It went in, and Sam hated Bucky a little for it.

It was then that Steve walked in, his hair was still damp from a shower and he was wearing a change of clothes. Sam inwardly sighed; only he could make a Henley look obscene.

“Hey Sam,” Steve said with a smile. “Did you guys have a good day?”

“Of course, Sarah always has a great time with Uncle Sam. We watched the movie, then she had a nap, then we went for a walk and then I made dinner…”

“No wonder it smells so good in here, Sam where’s my plate?” Bucky interjected. Sam chuckled and shook his head.

“No, I made Sarah _her_ dinner.”

Steve looked at Sam as though he’d hung the stars in the night sky. “You _made_ her dinner?”

Sam shrugged, though he secretly always got a kick out of impressing Steve. “Yeah, boiled some vegetables, mixed ‘em together, lightly seasoned them and let it cool down.” He took a spoon and handed it to Steve as well as pushing the Tupperware filled with more of his culinary excellence across the table.

Steve tasted a spoonful and almost groaned at how good it was. “Gosh Sam, this is amazing, you really spoil her.”

“Yeah, I’ve got to stay in Miss Sarah’s good books. I don’t want to fall from grace like you did when you gave her that nasty stuff in those jars.”

Bucky laughed, “Told ya you’re not her favourite.” Sarah gurgled in what Bucky chose to believe was agreement.

“It’s not my fault. I didn’t know baby food could taste so good.” Steve said, taking another spoonful of glorious mush. All he needed was some French bread and he’d be good for about an hour.

“Yeah well everything’s better my way.”

Bucky snorted, swiping a spoon behind Sam’s back and stealing a taste of the miracle food. He nodded his approval and winked at Sam, “Steve loves it when you do things your way.” 

“Bucky-“ the blond started, but Sam cut him off.

“Hey quit eating Sarah’s food, it’s for her to take home so she’s prepared for when her daddy’s culinary skills fail him.”

“Yeah, Rogers needs to work on that… among other things.” The brunette shot his friend a pointed look before switching the shoulder Sarah was resting on. Steve very subtly grimaced.

“Doll, I think it’s time for your nap. We’ll let your daddy and Uncle Sam have some alone time. But whatever happens doll, just know that your daddy is an honourable man you would never, ever back out of a deal.”

This time Steve wasn’t subtle with his irritation.

The pair exited the room and left behind an awkward silence.

Sam brows furrowed in confusion. “What was that about?”

Steve sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Ok. So this was happening. Right now apparently.

Shit.

“Sam, I think we should talk…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait, I'm on holiday and I didn't have enough time to get this up. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one's going to be more dramatic and action-y and I'll be introducing some interesting characters so stay tuned. Please leave kudos and comments! Thanks for reading!


	7. Cousin Peter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers deal with a confrontation which compromises Sarah's safety. Luckily a certain friendly neighbourhood vigilante has taken her in his charge...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here there's going to be some conflict which will run into the rest of the fic. Also I've added a few new characters to the mix! Excited? I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, please drop some kudos and comments if you do!

** Chapter 7: Cousin Peter **

Peter Parker was always one to look at the bright side. And he had so many things to be thankful for. He had been given the amazing opportunity to be an intern at Stark Industries. Tony Stark had taken notice of him and made him his personal assistant. Mr Stark had taken him under his wing and when he'd found out he was Spider-Man, and he'd even given him access to most of the technologies and facilities that he made available for the Avengers.

So yeah, Peter had many things to be grateful for. _#blessed_ and all that.

However, despite his usual optimism, Peter found it hard to find the silver lining in this situation.

“Sarah?! Sarah?!?”

He’d lost Captain America’s baby.

Like, _actually_ , _physically_ lost her.

The Avengers were fighting off Doom’s army of robots in London. The metal machines had flooded the city, thousands of them gathering around prisons, police stations and the Houses of Parliament as Doom declared the city his.  Iron-Man had been forced to funnel a lot of FRIDAY’s power and functions into security protocols for the team and the facility. It had been done as a precaution, in case Doom’s attack in the capital city was a distraction for an impending attack on their headquarters. Maria Hill and Clint Barton were in the East Wing of the building keeping an eye on the security systems and on the fight in London.

They didn't have time to deal with a missing baby.

Peter really wanted to scream. How? Just… _How_?

“Oh shit, oh _shit_.” The teenager mumbled to himself.

What if there was an attack on the facility? How was he meant to protect Sarah when he couldn't even find her? If his stupid mistake cost Captain America his daughter’s life-

 _Jesus_ , there would be a special place in Hel for him.

Peter took a shaky deep breath in and out, trying to hone in his senses and focus on his surroundings. His panic and hopelessness were clouding his judgment. He needed to be calm if he was going to save Sarah and save his own soul.

With his eyes still closed, Peter found himself navigating around the floor of the building, his senses leading him through the hallways, across a room before-

“Woah! Watch where you're going there Spidey! I gotta kid over here!”

Peter’s eyes flew open and for a second his brain shot-circuited because-

Huh?

There, standing before him in all his red-and-black-katana-carrying glory was Deadpool… Who was carrying a baby. Captain America’s baby. Sarah didn't seem to mind that she was being carried by the _Merc with a Mouth_ who had a gun in his other hand. It was only when the baby tried to reach for the katana on his back that Peter jumped into action and took her from the mercenary.

“Wade! What are you doing here?!” Peter spluttered, tightly hugging a fussy Sarah to his chest.

The mercenary tilted his head and put one hand to his hip, the other hand holding the gun which he scratched his mask-covered head with.

“Yeah… what am I doing here?”

As soon as the words left Wade’s mouth the emergency alarm sounded and Agent Hill was announcing that security protocols had been breached in their wing of the facility. Peter barely gave himself enough time to panic before dashing towards the nearest door so he could take Sarah to a Safety Bunk.

However, when he turned, there were three henchmen donned in black combat gear with gleaming red Hydra emblems that immediately faced the young vigilante.  

“Oh right! That’s why I’m here!” Deadpool said delightedly, his tone of voice completely mismatched with the gravitas of the situation.

“Give us the child and we will let you live.” One muscle-man grunted with a thick German accent.

Peter was standing no more than ten feet away from them. Too close range to risk anything without hurting the baby in his arms.

“Nice try guys, but I’m not buying that shit ‘cause I’ve seen every movie ever! Even that one about the superheroes that everyone got wet panties over.” Deadpool commented casually behind Peter.

“Then you will die.” Muscle-man said with a hideous snarl.

“No I won’t. I can’t be killed, silly! Trust me, smarter people have tried. It just doesn’t work!”

Muscle-man frowned and aimed his gun at Deadpool’s head.

“All men must die.”

“Well, I don’t know who ‘Allmen’ is, but let me introduce myself. Hi, I’m Deadpool.”

And on that cheerful note Deadpool pushed Peter to the side, flipped forwards and grabbed two of the henchmen’s guns at once. They both tried to shoot at him, but the few bullets that landed didn’t seem to faze the mercenary who broke one gun, then used the other to shoot the henchmen’s skulls. The last henchman who was scrabbling with his weapon gulped and looked up at Deadpool. But before the Merc even lifted a finger, the man fell to the ground flat on his face, with an arrow in his neck.

Peter, who had protected the precious bundle from the harsh landing, quickly got up and raced to a Safety Bunk, leaving Sarah’s cries in his wake. The Bunk was underground, protected by layers and layers of security algorithms as well as a good old-fashioned lock and key. When he finally got inside he put Sarah in the cot that had been placed there. He then rebooted all of the computer systems in the bunk. He managed to get security feeds for the building and the entire premises surrounding it, which revealed two dozen men all headed into the facility. They were like a swarm of black wasps, each with a heavy gun in their hands and a blood red Hydra emblem on their chests.

“Oh shit.” The young webster murmured.

 

* * *

 

“Is it just me, or are these bots getting better?” Natasha said, using her gauntlets to give yet another Doombot the shock of its life.

“They’re getting smarter. Learning our moves…” Tony answered distractedly. He had his eye set on the ‘motherbot’ which, although it did not control all of the Doombots entirely, was almost definitely acting as a source of power and artificial intelligence. If Tony’s calculations were correct, and _obviously they were_ , destroying the motherbot would decrease the efficiency of the Doombots by 78%.

Tony knew this. But so did Dr Doom who had ensured the robot was kept very heavily guarded in the middle of Westminster.

“FRIDAY give the blueprints for the Houses of Parliament.”

“Sir I am afraid there has been a security breach at the Avenger’s Facility. It appears that Hydra agents have intercepted several layers of security protocols which has allowed them to gain access to the East Wing.”

“What?!” Steve, who had sliced through three Doombots at once with his shield, stumbled on the rubble below him at the news.

“There is currently a confrontation between twenty-four Hydra agents and Deadpool, Agent Hill and Hawkeye. The Hydra agents appear to be a level six threat. They are heavily armed; some with grenades.”

“Oh god, Sarah! Is she ok- is she- please tell me she’s safe!” The Captain pleaded.

“Spiderman left the scene sixteen minutes ago and is now in the Safety Bunk with the package. The security protocols for the red zones remain functional, the agents will not be able to access the arsenals or the package.”

The captain’s tired eyes fluttered closed as he let out a sigh of relief, however his distraction left him open to a vicious flash of energy which blasted him.

“Steve!”

Bucky made quick work of the Doombots surrounding him and raced to his fallen friend. The blond groaned, his eyes screwed shut in excruciating pain as he lifted the hand on his torso to reveal deep red seeping through his uniform. At the centre of the red was a gleaming metal poll which had stabbed the captain’s flesh.

“Oh shit shit shit! Steve, you’ve gotta stay with me, punk.” Bucky carefully detached the poll from the rest of the rubble with his metal arm, trying not to move it in Steve’s torso.

“Winter, take him somewhere safe to get treated, I’ll cover you.” Sam said from above them.

“Copy that.”

“This isn’t gonna stop unless we take down the motherbot. There’s a tunnel which leads into the centre of the building. That should get us close enough to take that thing down. Ant-Man, you see a Thameslink drain nearby?”

“Errr… yeah, I see one! It’s close to the building.”

“Good. Go small, get in and take down Robobitch. I’m sending you some malware codes that should give her a real nasty cold. Once I have control of her, I’ll draw her out. Thor, zap her with your disco stick then help Widow get the politicians out of there. They may suck, but no-one deserves to lose to Doom. I’m on bot-clean-up. Let’s work some magic people!”

 

* * *

 

 When Steve regained consciousness, it was to the familiar sounds of a medical ward. There were no distant noises of patients in anguish or desperate orders from doctors or nurses, so Steve guessed he wasn’t in a public hospital. He opened his eyes and one quick sweep of the room confirmed that he was in the Avenger’s facility med-bay.

“Well, hello there Sleeping Beauty. Y’know come to think of it, she slept for what, a hundred years? You’re pretty damn close to matching that.”

The dishevelled blond turned to his left where Sam was seated beside him, having looked up from the news feeds on the Starkpad to raise an eyebrow at him. Steve cleared his throat and gratefully took the glass of water that Sam handed to him.

“You don’t look old and grey; I couldn’t have been out for too long.” Steve croaked with a hint of a smile.

“Well, plot twist! You’ve actually gone _back_ in time now. _That’s_ why I don’t look a day over twenty.” 

Steve chuckled, though the movement of his diaphragm sent a shot of pain to his left rib cage. He soon found that trying to sit up was also a no-no.

“Woah take it easy, you had a metal rod through your body three days ago!”

“Three days!?”

“Yeah. It was pretty intense,” ‘Sam cast his eyes downward, the serious expression on his face highlighting the fatigue and worry etched on his features. “Dr Cho wasn’t sure that you were gonna survive all that blood loss… and you kept passing out from all the pain when the meds wore off because of your metabolism.”

“Oh… Sam I- I’m so sorry…”

Sam just looked up at the blond incredulously. “Why the hell are _you_ apologising!?”

“Because… this is why I didn’t… I know I worry and stress you out and I feel bad ‘cause I keep waking up from some coma to find you there yet again…”

Sam sighed and took Steve’s hand in his own. “Steve, you have nothing to apologise for. I knew what I signed up for with the Avengers and with us. Yeah, I get a heart attack every time you seem to forget you’re not immortal, but I’m always gonna be here for you. Besides, I know you weren’t being reckless, you were just worried about your baby girl.”

This got Steve’s immediate attention, and he jolted upwards, momentarily forgetting his injury before another wave of pain reminded him.

“I thought I told you to relax, you’re gonna reopen those stitches.” Sam stood over Steve, trying to settle him into the supporting pillows as the blond hissed in pain at any small movements.

“Sarah… is she ok?”

“She’s fine. She was safe with Peter in the Safety Bunk, not a hair on her cute little head got hurt. Bucky’s probably with her right now. They’ve been coming in every couple of hours to check up on you.”

Although Steve mentally understood the words Sam had said, it was only until moments later when Bucky walked in with his precious daughter that the anxious father’s shoulders finally relaxed in relief.

Steve reached out and Bucky gently placed the agitated baby into his arms. He winced slightly at the pain the movement caused, but adamantly rejected Bucky’s offer to take her back. He looked down at Sarah, who gazed back up at him with watery green eyes. He smiled down at her, rocking her gently and then reached down to kiss her smooth forehead.

At that moment the realisation that he could have died and left his baby girl alone in the world dawned on him. He closed his eyes and took in her scent. her baby smell grounding and calming him. Steve made a silent promise to never be apart from Sarah again. He would never let her go. 


	8. Uncle Bucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve has his first date with Sam and Bucky finally has to honour his word and babysit Sarah. A former Soviet assassin is trusted to babysit a baby... what could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this is pretty much just banter between a bunch of characters because that is my favourite thing to write! This is also a little less PG than the beginning of this fic... in fact I had to stop myself from making it an M scenario. Don't worry it's still T. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, thank you so much for the kudos and comments so far, please keep them coming! Thanks for reading!

“Are you sure about that one?”

Steve turned around to face his so-called best friend.

“What’s wrong with this one?” the blond huffed, straightening out what felt like the hundredth button-down shirt he’d tried.

Bucky shrugged nonchalantly which minutely jostled the baby he was holding to his chest. Sarah was looking at her father with, what Bucky chose to believe, was an unimpressed expression.

“Nothing’s wrong with it… It’s just, there ain’t much right with it either.”

Steve ran a hand through his hair in frustration before beginning to undo the buttons of the shirt.

“You said that about the last eleven shirts Buck, I’m starting to think you’re just messin’ with me.”

The former assassin gasped exaggeratedly, “Stevie, I would never! I just know a good date shirt when I see one- that, wear that!” Bucky pointed at Steve enthusiastically.

The blond looked down at his bare chest and rolled his eyes. “Real funny.” He deadpanned.

“You might as well go like that. If the date goes well, you won’t be needing the shirt.”

“Bucky! You can’t- stop saying those things in front of Sarah!” Steve stammered all embarrassed and flustered.

“Oh please Rogers, she’s a baby, we can still get away with sayin’ shit without damaging her too much. When she starts talkin’, then we’ll have a problem.”

Steve groaned upon realising the truth in that statement. “Between you, Tony and Wade, I don’t know _what_ I'm gonna do.”

“Oh quit your whinin’, at least you'll have Sam to help ya.”

“If I ever make it to this date. Can’t believe I've spent so long getting ready.”

“This seems like the kinda thing I used to do right? Back in the day?”

Steve smiled at his friend, his eyes had the same wistful, fond look they always got when Bucky brought up the past.

“Yeah, you would take your time getting ready for dates. You’d get back from the docks, scrub off the fishy smell and use up all our hot water.”

“Yeah, I sure knew how to show a dame a good time…”

Steve’s smile turned a little sad. “You still can Buck.”

The brunette snorted self-depreciatingly, “Sure, I can take her to dinner and tell her about my hobbies; murder, torture and just ‘chillin’.”

“Bucky-“

“Steve, I’m fine. Tonight is about you and Sam, you deserve to have a good time. Besides, my heart has already been stolen by Miss Sarah, and she’s perfect. Ain’t no dame who’s ever gonna come close.” Bucky cooed at Sarah and placed a loud kiss on her forehead earning a delighted squeal from the baby.

Steve sighed, but decided not to push the matter. It wasn’t often that Bucky indulged in trips down memory lane, but when he did, Steve stuck to the boundaries his friend set to prevent himself from pushing too far and making Bucky revert to seclusion.

“Well I’m running out of time… and shirts. I gotta choose one fast so I can get going.”

Steve went back into the spacious walk-in which was bigger than the combined living room and kitchen had been in their old apartment. He picked up the first shirt he saw that was still on a hanger.

“What about this one?”

“Nah.”

Steve crossed his arms, only half annoyed as he watched his friend blow raspberries in his daughter’s stomach. “Bucky! You haven’t even looked at it.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “You said you’ve tried on twelve shirts; you can’t choose the thirteenth. Do you wanna get laid or not?”

“Wha- How- You know what, I’m choosing the next one no matter what you say. I ain’t ever coming to you for advice again.”

“Sure you won’t.”

“I won’t!” Steve called from his closet.

“I wouldn’t bet on it. You still haven’t chosen which shoes to wear.”

 

* * *

 

 

Bucky took a deep breath in as he watched Steve walk away from his New York apartment with a smile on his face. He and Sam weren’t holding hands, but as they headed towards Sam’s car shoulder-to-shoulder, Bucky could see their fingers brush together.

He had meant it when he’d said Steve deserved a night of happiness. His best friend was constantly giving so much of himself to others, particularly now that he had a daughter to take care of. And whilst Sarah was perfect and could do no wrong, Bucky knew his friend was tired and a little lonely. And that was precisely why he’d promised Steve to take care of Sarah during his date, despite being a little anxious about being left alone with such an important part of his friend’s life.

Bucky turned away from the window and faced the living room of the quite apartment. All he could hear were Sarah’s soft sniffles as she slept in her cosy bouncer. If the apartment had not been so quiet and still, Bucky probably wouldn’t have heard the quiet thud that seemed to come from the guest bathroom.

He froze, but soon recovered. His breathing slowed and he began mentally preparing himself for a confrontation. He silently reached for two hidden weapons; a gun in the coffee table and a knife in the vase on the mantel piece. Bucky did a quick scan of the living room to ensure all exits were secure before creeping through the hallway to the main bathroom. The noises were getting louder; the ex-assassin could even hear the curse words muttered by the intruder. Once Bucky reached the doorway of the bathroom, he glanced at the nearby guest bedroom to ensure the intruder didn’t have any reinforcements waiting there. It was empty; it seemed the soldier only had one target.

With one swift move, the trained assassin slammed open the bathroom door, ran up to the intruder and put him in a headlock with his metal arm. The man, who appeared to have considerable strength, tried to struggle, but the soldier couldn’t allow that. He violently flipped him onto his back and anchored him onto the ground with his knee. His flesh hand held a gun to his skull.

The soldier’s actions had been so automatic; he hadn’t even given himself time to register who the intruder really was.

“Oooh I like this game!”

“Wade?!” Bucky looked down and the red and black clad mercenary in surprise.

“The one and only.” The merc with a mouth responded in a low seductive tone. “You know, I’ve had so many wet dreams of us gettin’ down n’ dirty, but _none_ of them come close to the real thing. I’m _soo_ turned on right now!”

“Wade, what the fuck are you doing here?” Bucky huffed, ignoring Deadpool’s comments as he stood up and clicked the safety of the gun on, despite the temptation to shoot the mercenary in the head.

“I was just in the neighbourhood, thought I’d pop by and say hello.” The mercenary stood up and revealed that his suit was drenched in blood coming from at least two stab wounds that Bucky could see at a glance. Although he doubted all of the blood was Wade’s.

“Who else was in the neighbourhood, the Russians again?” Bucky asked as he fetched Steve’s fully equipped First Aid kit.

“Actually it was a Japanese squad this time, I was helping out the Devil.”

“What?”

“The Devil… of Hell’s Kitchen.”

Bucky raised a brow, “The vigilante?”

“Yeah sure, that guy. At first I was going to confront him about the obvious similarities in our aesthetics...”

The brunette sighed. He was _literally_ way too old for this.

“But then I saw him fighting ninjas and that looked like _so_ much fun, I had to join in! Thought it would be a cool story to tell Cap. Didn’t know you would be here instead. I wish I’d worn my _fancy_ panties.” Deadpool waggled his eyebrows under the mask, but again, Bucky ignored it.

The ex-assassin knew from experience that any response to Wade’s antics would just encourage him.

It wasn’t that Bucky didn’t have a sense of humour. He always got a kick out of teasing the hell out of Steve about his love life, and he’d even been the one to trick Scott and Clint into going on a date night, even though they weren’t even romantically interested in each other (the team still shipped them).

The problem was that Wade was _actually_ in love with him. Except it wasn’t as much _him_ as it was The Winter Soldier. And it wasn’t as much _love_ as it was _obsessive lust_. Bucky figured that the mercenary had a fanboy crush on him because of his past as an assassin, or rather, _the_ assassin. And of course any minor crush would turn into a full-blown obsession in Deadpool’s mind.

Bucky had mixed feelings towards this. A part of him would always be ashamed and remorseful over the horrible things he did as The Soldier. However, another part of him, as minuscule as it was, didn’t hate the idea of being admired by someone because of his skills.

It was pretty fucked up, but Bucky figured since he hated himself so much, there wasn’t much more hate to go around. He could use a little stroke to his ego. Although he was pretty sure Deadpool wanted to stroke more than just his ego.

“Look Wade, you need to leave, I’m looking after Sarah while Steve’s out on his date and I really don’t wanna have to deal with _two_ children.”

Deadpool somehow managed to look affronted through his mask. “I’m no child! I'm _all_ man.”

“Yeah, sure. Why not.”

“I think I should stick around to help ya out, I love babies!”

“No-“

“Besides I'm almost bleeding to death, you would really let me bleed out on the street-“

“Yes.”

“All on my lonesome? Where any old freak could find me and use me for my body.”

“What?! You know what; do whatever the fuck you want.”

Wade’s brows rose excitedly, “Can I do _you_?”

Bucky’s patience was running real thin, his thumb edged towards the safety lock of the gun.

“Wade for the last time, I am not interested. I'm not even gay!”

Before Wade could even respond the pair heard Sarah sobbing in the living room. Clearly Sarah hadn’t been too happy about waking up in an empty room.

“I'm gonna go feed her. You go… clean yourself up and stay in the guest room. Did you hear me? Stay there!”

“Sir yes sir! Is this role play? Am I the sub? Man, I _really_ should have worn my fancy panties.”

Bucky ran his metal hand through his hair and only just managed to prevent himself from tugging the newly cut strands from his scalp. He went into the living room and picked up the baby whose cries had gotten louder. Bucky’s heart broke when he saw the tears stream down her scrunched up face, her little fists waving in the air in distress.

“Aww darlin’, I’m so sorry I left ya alone. I had to go take care of something.” Bucky murmured as he bounced her on the spot.

“Come on, doll, let’s get you a snack.”

Bucky went into the kitchen and attempted to make a bottle for Sarah single-handedly. He quickly realised that that would be near impossible and he would need to put her down to get anything done. He was struggling at the countertop, trying to open containers when he was enveloped by a warm presence.

“Hmm, this is just like that pottery scene in Ghost. And we all know what happened after they made that vase. Well maybe the baby doesn’t, but we sure do!”

“I thought I told you to stay in the guest bedroom?”

Wade reached over, his arms surrounding Bucky as he removed the bottle top and container lids from behind him.

“Thanks.” The brunette murmured reluctantly.

He yelped when Wade squeezed his ass.

“Anytime.”

 

* * *

 

Despite Bucky’s constant teasing and innuendos, Steve hadn’t actually known what to expect from his first date with Sam. Ever since the super-soldier had confessed his true feelings to the fellow Avenger, they’d shared a somewhat undefinable relationship. They occasionally made out and spent alone time together for hours on end. Sam was always by his side when things turned ugly. And he really was great with Sarah.

Plus, Steve was officially caught up on _Suits_.

Nonetheless organising a date had been difficult with Sam working at the VA and the unpredictability of the Avengers being called on a mission.

But that night, all of Steve’s troubles and worries melted away as he walked through the dimly lit streets of New York with Sam at his side. This was the first time in a long time that Steve could take a deep breath in and enjoy the feeling of happiness within him. During his search for Bucky, when his feelings for Sam had first emerged, Steve had been filled with guilt at the thought of opening a new chapter of his life whilst leaving his life-long friend far behind in the distant past of the 1940s. Then he’d found out about Sarah, his daughter, and his love for her wasn’t something he could repress as easily. He found himself not wanting to even try. And yet there was always a voice in his head telling him that he was selfish for enjoying the amazing moments he had with his daughter while Bucky remained lost, damaged and confused.

That night Steve didn’t have any voices in his head condemning him, or any guilt pushing him into repressing his true self. He just had a huge weight lifted from his shoulders, a smile on his face and Sam, smiling right back at him.

“You err, wanna go back to the facility with me tonight?” Sam’s smile began to resemble more of a smirk.

Steve chuckled, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

 

* * *

 

 

It was seven in the morning, a time which he didn’t even know _existed_ , when Clint zombie-walked his way to the kitchen. Only to be stopped by a wall which actually turned out to be his favourite frenemy.

“Scott, what are you doing?” the archer mumbled, squinting at the vaguely human shaped blob in front of him.

“Sshh! I’m waiting to go into the kitchen.” Scott whispered. He was just metres away from the kitchen doorway and had appeared to be inconspicuously peeping into the room.

“Why is there a queue to go in the kitchen?”

“It’s not really a- it’s just... Cap’s in there.”

“So?”

Scott huffed, annoyed that he had to explain himself. In Clint’s opinion, the ex-con should have known better than to speak to him at ‘ _God-forbid-O’ clock-in-the-morning_ ’ and _before_ he’d even had his caffeine fix. 

“He’s chipper and humming and half naked, you know what that means!” Scott hissed.

“Oh.” Clint responded stupidly.

Scott rolled his eyes. “I can’t go in there and face a post-coital Captain America. I just _can’t_. I’m going to wait until he’s done.”

“What? No way, he’s making pancakes in there! I’m not waiting for Thor to get here and finish them all off.”

Ignoring Scott’s hushed protests, Clint pushed past him and walked into the kitchen where Steve was in fact chipper, humming and topless. He also had an embarrassed flush; evidently he’d heard their entire conversation.

“Hey guys, want some chocolate chip pancakes?”

 

* * *

 

Steve left soon after having prepared a couple of mountains of pancakes for his teammates. Sam dropped him off at his apartment on his way to the VA. The captain was anxious to see his daughter and as he turned the key in the lock of his apartment door, it occurred to him that this was the first time he’d spent an entire night away from his baby girl.

It was still early in the morning, ergo extremely early for Bucky, so Steve tried not to make any noise as he crept into the apartment. He gently closed the door and made his way to Sarah’s nursery.

Steve had a mini heart attack when he saw that her cot was empty. But he pushed down his panic and swiftly headed towards the guest bedroom.

He opened the door to find Sarah fast asleep on her baby bouncer beside the bed. Bucky was sleeping on the bed, facing towards her. Steve breathed a quiet sigh of relief, but as he entered the room, he noticed that none other than Wade Wilson was sleeping behind Bucky with his leg and arm draped over him. 

“Oh.” Was all Steve’s dumbfounded mind could come up with, although in a lightbulb moment, he brought out his phone to take pictures.

“Rogers, don’t you dare.” Bucky grumbled, his eyes still closed.

The blond merely snorted, “Say cheese.” He whispered before snapping some photographic evidence of the scene before him. Steve then gently picked Sarah up from her bouncer, left the room and closed the door behind him to let them sleep.

Bucky sighed in resignation, his tired mind reassuring him that he’d delete the pictures by noon. The brunette felt Deadpool’s hold strengthen as he clung on to Bucky tighter. Then his knee brushed against Bucky’s crotch.

“Fuck. Wade quit it, I know you’re awake.”

“Hmm… no I’m not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... yeah... I'm kind of in love with Winterpool. Can we make that a thing please? Thanks. Drop me some kudos and comments :)


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